Appliances. — The appliances should be as simple as pos- 

 sible, and only those absolutely necessary should be purchased. 

 These consist of a complete hive, containing supers (section 

 racks, or shallow comb boxes), a queen excluder, quilts, ten 

 frames with a division board in the brood chamber, cornb 

 foundation for the brood frames and also for the supers, a veil, 

 and a smoker or carbolic cloth for subduing the bees. If the 

 shallow combs are to be used for procuring surplus honey, a 

 centrifugal honey extractor will also be needed, butthis will 

 not be required if comb honey is worked for exclusively. A 

 scraper for cleaning floor boards, frame tops, &c., an uncap- 

 ping knife for use when extracting (a carving knife will serve 

 this purpose), and a bee escape fitted into a board for clearing 

 the bees out of the supers, will also be required. 



The Hive. — The outside design of the various hives 

 manufactured differs considerably, but in mO'^^cases the 

 interior is of uniform measurement and made "to mke the 

 British standard frame. A hive should be chosen of simple 

 construction, accurate workmanship and sound material, in 

 order that it may stand permanent exposure to the weather. 

 The outside of the hive shoiild be painted thoroughly to keep it 

 proof against rain and damp. A material aid to this end is to 

 cover the roof (which must be made plain and not from feather- 

 edge boards) with calico stretched as tightly as possible, and 

 tacked securely along the under edges of the eaves and gable 

 ends. This should be done after the first coat of paint has 

 been applied to the hive, so that the calico will receive the 

 subsequent coats. An extra coat of paint should be given to 

 the calico-covered roof. 



Double-Walled Hive. — A hive of sound pattern is that 

 called the " W.B.G." Fig. 1 shows the arrangement of this 

 hive, the side of which has been omitted so that the internal 

 fittings are exposed to view. It consists of a floor-board 

 having four splayed legs, and a brood chamber containing ten 

 frames with a division board. These frames hang by ears or 

 lugs on a metal runner, so that there is a space of -J in. 

 between the end bar of the frame and the side of the hive. 

 This is a bee space, and therefore left clear. If the end bar fits 

 close to the hive side so that the bees cannot pass between, 

 they will fill the crevice with propolis; if more than ^ in. 

 space is given they will build comb between; in either case 

 making it difficult to take out the frames for an examination 

 of the combs. Between the bottom bar and the floor-board 

 i in. space is given so that the incoming and outgoing bees 

 have a free passage, and are also able to clean out in comfort 

 both the bees which die and any dirt which accumulates 

 Their natural instinct teaches the bees to leave this space 

 open, and they therefore do not build comb there. To obtain 

 combs of the right thickness for brood rearing, i.e., J in., 



